The Kids in the Hall As a member of
The Kids in the Hall comedy troupe, McCulloch starred in the 1989-1995
sketch comedy series
The Kids in the Hall, which aired for five seasons in Canada and the United States. For the show, he frequently wrote surreal monologues, films and songs. He also directed several of the filmed sketches. Memorable characters included the Flying Pig, Cabbage Head, talkative schoolchild Gavin, pop starlet Tammy, secretary Kathie, and grumpy middle-aged man Gordon. McCulloch appeared in the Kids in the Hall's movie
Kids in the Hall: Brain Candy, released in 1996. McCulloch drew controversy with his Cancer Boy character, introduced on the series' final episode, in which he plays a dying young cancer patient who relates otherwise depressing news, in monotone, with a cheerful smile, and even releases a hit single entitled "Whistle When You're Low."
Paramount Pictures fought to edit out the offending scenes, yet they were kept in. Among other characters, McCulloch also appeared as Grivo, a depressed rock star who becomes upbeat when he starts taking the drug. He co-wrote, starred in, and was executive producer of the Kids in the Hall 2010 reunion project
Death Comes to Town.
Music McCulloch has released two albums: 1995's
Shame-Based Man, produced by
Bob Wiseman (praised by
AllMusic as the "most remarkable of comedy albums: one that bears (frequent) repeated listenings") and 2002's
Drunk Baby Project. He released a video for the song "The Daves I Know". McCulloch also directed the music video for the
Tragically Hip's song "
My Music at Work," for which he won the award of "
Best Director" at the 2000
MuchMusic Video Awards. McCulloch was close friends with Tragically Hip frontman
Gord Downie. The video shares much in common with many
The Kids in the Hall sketches, including its office setting, camera angles, and some thematic elements. McCulloch also starred in and co-directed the music video for 1997's "Make You Mad" by the Canadian band
Odds.
Movies McCulloch played Fred Wright in the 1987 TV mini-series
Anne of Avonlea. He also had a role in the 1999 comedy film
Dick. McCulloch also co-wrote and had a bit part in ''
Superman's 50th Anniversary: A Celebration of the Man of Steel (1988). In the CBS prime-time special (also featuring Dana Carvey, Al Franken, Jan Hooks, and others), he played a patron of a store that, among other things, sold counterfeit Kryptonite. He also played a Royal Canadian Mounted Police officer in the movie Super Troopers 2''. McCulloch directed the comedy films
Dog Park,
Superstar,
Stealing Harvard, and
Comeback Season.
Publishing McCulloch's memoir -- ''Let's Start a Riot: How a Young Drunk Punk Became a Hollywood Dad'' () -- was published by HarperCollins in 2014.
Television McCulloch played the judge in "To Kill a Chupacabraj" in season 3 of
Workaholics, Father Marsala in season 4 of
Arrested Development, and Tobin on
Gilmore Girls, the enemy of Michel Gerard. He created and starred in the sitcom
Young Drunk Punk, which debuted in 2015, and wrote and played a small part in the 2018 web series
This Blows. In 2019, he signed on as a producer of the Canadian sketch comedy series
TallBoyz. In 2023, he was an executive producer of the sketch comedy series
The Dessert. In 2023–2025, he had a recurring role as councilman Leonard Flynn on the
CTV series
Children Ruin Everything (which in the U.S. aired on
The CW). ==Discography==